Heart River in North Dakota

Trip Overview

Heart River into the Missouri

Two of us put in at the 2nd bridge West of Mandan on Main St/Bus Loop 94/Old Hwy 10. This bridge is about 4 miles W of 10th Ave SW. The completion point was the confluence with the Missouri.

There had been a lot of rain in the days before the trip, so the water was running very fast. It took about 50 easy minutes to make it to the 1st bridge W of Mandan. This was a scenic trek. The river winds quite a bit more than you'd think between the two bridges, with some decent hill scenery to the North. There was a strong wind, but we were protected during this portion of the trip.

The 2nd third of the trek was decent, but not as scenic. The only obstacle was a little farther downriver, at the bridge just south of the golf course. There were two sets of rapids. Seeing concrete with rebar was a good motivation to get out and portage that section.

The final third of the trek was the least scenic. There was little to see until the Ft. Lincoln Hills and blockhouses appeared. Of course we were also fighting a 25 mph wind from the south at that point.

The entire trek took 2.75 hours.
NOTE: I would recommend NOT running the rebar populated rapids under the 10th Ave bridge.

Accommodations:

None

Fees:

None

Directions:

From Mandan, take Main Street West for 4 miles west of 10th Ave SW.

Resources:

Smart phone with GPS enabled maps.